La La Land
by redsenshi
Summary: Three days after her high school graduation Allison Munroe kisses her mother goodbye and leaves Wisconsin with nothing but a cow-hide patterned suitcase and her dreams of becoming a star. AU, CHANNY.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N I've been working on this story for a while actually. It's AU, in which Sonny comes to Hollywood as an unknown to try and make it as an actress. I tried to make it like Sonny with a chance in the real world so the characters drink, swear, have sex (but don't expect anything to explicit). Because Sonny waited to finish high school this time everyone is a little older (Chad is at least in his twenties). And lastly this story is very very very CHANNY. That's what started it off in the first place. Anyway, enjoy. :)**

Allison Munroe has a dream. She wants to be a star and wear glamorous clothes and live in a big house and have such stupendously large amounts of money her mother doesn't have to cry over the bills no more.

It's a dream so big and bright it's lasted her years and kept her going all her life. Anything from not understanding long division to overhearing a teacher call her "the poor fatherless girl" could be left behind by simply closing her eyes and escaping to the world where she was known and loved by everyone from coast to coast.

Her dream has always been the biggest motivating factor of her life so why is it now of all times- when her suitcase is packed and on top of her bed lies a one way ticket to Los Angeles- that she feels scared and reluctant to go live it.

After all it had only been two days since she had left the familiar routine of high school behind forever and now she is leaving her home, her entire world, behind her to chase some wish upon a star.

For a second it's all too much and she just wants to go downstairs and curl up with her mother one the couch where they can watch crappy dramas and make fun of them while at the same time being hopelessly addicted and she can just forget about the outside world and the scary future.

But she takes a deep breath and focuses on the oxygen moving in and out of her lungs. This is no time to panic. It's too late to stop now. She's already said goodbye to her friends, quit her jobs, sold her car- severed her ties to Appelton, Wisconsin. She runs one last gaze over her room, which is looking unfamiliar and bare with all her possessions packed up and her heart sinks down to her knees and rises into her throat simultaneously.

This is it, she thinks. Then she tucks her ticket carefully into her bag, grabs her suitcase and heads out, patting the doorframe in a silent goodbye as she leaves. She squares her shoulders and screws her courage to her sticking point because everything else has been done and it's time for the two goodbyes she's been putting off for as long as possible. Her two biggest and most important goodbyes.

Her mother cries and Sonny knew she would do this and it should annoy her but she's too busy crying. While she tries to get the tears under control her mother whips out the camera and Sonny is confused because why is she trying to record such a sad moment and why did she have to do now they both look all pink and snivelly? Nonetheless her mother is fiddling determinedly with the camera and muttering about her little girl so Sonny poses with a big smile just so she doesn't start crying again.

"You are so beautiful Sonny." Her mother says, contemplating the photo. She looks about ready to burst into tears again and Sonny quickly heads it off with another round of hugging.

"Don't be so miserable mom. It's not like I'm dying. I'm not even leaving the country. I'll write you and we can skype and email. Really you'll be seeing so much me you'll get sick off me." She places a gentle kiss on her mother's forehead.

"Good Luck Sonny."

And with that she's gone. Well, not really. Her mother is still in the house, probably going off to make herself some coffee or something. But Sonny is out of the house and moving towards the battered pickup truck parked in the driveway. Lucy is giving her a ride to the airport.

She slings her suitcase carelessly into the boot and slides into the front seat next to her best friend. Lucy stops drumming her fingers on the steering wheel and flashes Sonny a nervous smile. "You ready Hun?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." She smiles back at her, a smile intended to comfort and reassure Lucy (and maybe herself a little bit as well) "Come on Driver, onwards!"

It doesn't feel like goodbye. As they drive through the countryside the two of them fall into the same familiar pattern, talking and laughing like old times. The radio is turned up to full bore and they sing along at the top of their lungs as the wind from the open windows whips their hair around. It's all so familiar that Sonny's almost shocked when they pull up at the airport instead of the mall or one of their usual haunts.

Lucy walks her inside. It's all bustle and hustle in here. They check in her luggage and scan her ticket and then the two of them play around in the departure lounge generally misbehaving and having fun. The time seems to fly and it's all too soon she's standing at the gate and it's time to leave.

Lucy cries then Sonny cries (again) and they're hugging and crying and saying things but none of them are sure what they are because they indecipherable between tears. Somehow Sonny found the strength and enunciation to grab her friend's shoulders and say clearly, if in a ridiculous accent, "You are awesome."

"No you are awesome-er." Lucy finishes. They share one last hug and then Lucy is gone and Sonny is all alone. She's not so scared anymore though. Strangely, saying her goodbyes, while hard, has not left a scared lonely little girl behind as she feared, but has paradoxily filled her with courage instead. Knowing that the two most important people to Sonny love her and believe in her gives her the strength she's needs to get on that plane and go chase her dream.

So she does.

So far so great, she thinks as she watches everything she ever know disappear below her and all that's left is the sky.


	2. Chapter 2

**Finally a second chapter! It's taken forever I know but I'm in grade 11 right now which is a very important year for schooling. Sorry anyway. Interesting fact the coffee scene is actually the first thing I wrote for the entire story. R/R! **

The first thing that hits her in LA is the heat. As she as she leaves the air-conditioned lounge he humid air hits her like a wall- followed shortly of an actual glass wall which is coincidentally the second thing that hits her in LA.

She shakes off the collision easily but the heat is a bit harder to lose. It coils round her, sticks her hair to her face, makes her feel like the air is made of water.

She sheds he jacket and stuff in her suitcase which makes her feel marginally better. Then she looks about getting a taxi because the airport is like an hour away from the actual Hollywood part of Hollywood.

Even though she has still to reach her final destination she's still ecstatic. She's walking on air right now because this is not Appleton, Wisconsin, it's nothing like anything she's ever seen and in that moment Sonny is so full of life and excitement that she wants to burst. Instead, as bursting can only be considered a detriment to her successful Hollywood career, she does her happy dance which she has been informed on occasion is ridiculously bad. She doesn't even care about the strange looks people give her and she chooses to think the man who threw a quarter at her was just trying to encourage her artistic expression in his own hostile way.

Then she takes out her phone and snaps a picture of her self amongst the sunshine and palm trees and adds iton Facebook so that all her 563 friends can fell this magic moment wither (she's always had a problem with turning people down and can't even deny a single friend request).

Her taxi man is a lovely older gentleman who listens to her entire life story kindly and tells her he's sure he'll be seeing her on the billboards soon. Sonny feels that he really means it despite the fact he may have had a hundred girls in his taxi before all going to the same destination, spouting the same dream. So in return she listens, really, listens to his stories about his wife and kids and their tumultuous hijinks and laughs in all the right places. When he drops her off on Sunset Boulevard she swoops in and gives him a peck on the cheek alongside of her gives a shell shocked smile and a wave as he drives off.

Sonny spins around breathlessly, taking in her surroundings. Clothing boutiques, movie posters, palm trees- ooh a coffee shop. She could really go for a coffee right now.

It's packed tight in there and takes her a while to get served but when she comes to the counter she gives the girl her 100 watt smile and orders the most expensive decadent coffee on the menu (that she can afford with the change in her pockets).

"You look happy." The girl observes warily.

"Is it obvious? I've just arrived." Sonny confides, leaning over the counter conspiratorially.

"Fresh meat, huh?" The girl returns her smile. "One Chocolate Mocha-Frapppa-Slappa-Chino with extra sprinkles coming up."

Her coffee takes even longer to be ready but the serving girl adds an extra dash of extra sprinkles and a scribbled sharpie message and sends a wink her way when she places it on the counter. Sonny struggles over to it, bathed in the warm glow of the goodness of humanity.

Then it's back to reality as some jerkish blond guy, engrossed with some conversation on his bluetooth tries to take her order.

"Hey sorry, that one's mine." She says.

Maybe he doesn't hear or maybe he'sjust a douchebag because he just keeps walking and doesn't even give her a second glance. (It's probably the latter. The man's got a Bluetooth for god's sake).

"Hey!" she ventures. "Hey!"

She loses her patience and chases him, grabbing his shoulder to try and get his attention, swinging him round to face her. This action was poorly timed with his attempted sip of her coffee and the end result is a dose of hot coffee and a few of her extra sprinkles staining the front of his shirt.

This inspires him to give her a second glance. She should probably feel honoured because he doesn't look like a guy who gives second glances unless he's checking out your cleavage but really she just wants her celebration coffee back. So she gives him a look somewhere between irritation and disapproval that she thinks she might have stolen from her mother.

If he feels her matronly condemnation he gives no sign of it.

"My shirt!" he says angrily.

"My coffee." She says determinedly.

"Your coffee?"

She gestured to the scribbled message on the side of the cup. "Read it and weep."

"Dear Sonny, welcome to LA. Have a wonderful day." The sarcasm and derision was palatable in his tone. "Cute. And it rhymes. So you must be Sonny."

He runs his eyes over her face, her hair and then, of course, her body. "I'm Chad Dylan Cooper." He says with a charming smile and she is acutely aware that he is very handsome but he knows it full well.

"Whatever." She grabs her coffee and walks out.

Sonny does not give him a second glance. Which is a shame because if she looked back she would have seen his rather amusing expression of surprise and disbelief.

Chad Dylan Cooper has never been blown off by a girl like that before. Doesn't she know who he is?

She doesn't. But it's no great loss to her (for now at least) and as she walks off into the sunlight she takes a victory sip of her coffee and reflects on the wonderful feeling of the sun on her face, the wind and her hair and wonders what kind of douche bag uses a Bluetooth nowadays anyway?

(The answer? Hot ones.)


	3. Chapter 3

**Am almost embarrassed to be updating this inconsistently. Did lose the memory stick I keep this story on and got over run by school work but shall try harder in the future. R/R! **

Her life just seems to fall into place after that.

A couple days later she's strolling along minding her own business when she's almost knocked over by a boy in a leather jacket running for his life.

He is following swiftly by an angry blonde tottering after him in ridiculously high heels and screaming abuse at the top of her lungs.

AS the boys does a fairly impressive duck-and-roll around the corner and disappears the blonde stands there shaking with anger for a moment before she collapses to the ground and starts shaking with tears- big, loud, baby like cries that fill the air around them.

Sonny looks around helplessly, but it looks like she's the person stuck with this problem. She approaches the girl hesitantly, crouching down beside her and laying a gentle hand on her shoulder.

The blonde jumps up like she's been electrified. "Don't touch my purse!" She screams, clutching the aforementioned purse tightly to her chest. Sonny stumbles and falls to the ground and the two have an awkward Mexican standoff.

"Calm down," Sonny says, placatingly holding out her hands, "I'm not going to steal your purse."

"Oh Yeah?" The blonde wobbles around Sonny glaring at her suspiciously. "What are you doing then?"

"I was, like, comforting you and stuff." Sonny says helplessly.

"Really?" The blonde seems incredulous.

"Yes! I was gonna help you up and get you some ice cream, or something."

"Ice-cream?" The blonde throws her head to one side and considers it for a moment. A long moment. "Alright then. If you're buying." And she thrusts her hand out to Sonny.

She takes it with a smile and allows the girl to pull her off the ground. "I'm Sonny."

"Tawni." She grabs Sonny's elbow and steers her deliberately towards the ice-cream shop as if she might take back her promise if given a moment to breathe.

Sonny laugh and relaxes, allows herself to be dragged over to the counter where a skinny black boy and a chubby blonde boy seem to be engrossed in a comic book. "So who was that boy?"

"James." Tawni's voice fills with venom, as she makes herself what is quite possibly the largest sundae known to man.

"James!" The black boy pipes up, "That dude is low down, dirty, no-good bastard-" his eyes widen as Sonny puts down the wad of cash necessary to pay for their ice-cream extravaganzas, "But he is great for business." He and the other boy snatch up the money and rub it against their faces dreamily.

Sonny raises an incredulous eyebrow at Tawni. "Do you know these guys?"

"Unfortunately. That's Nico and that's Grady and _they're _idiots." And with that Tawni picks up their purchases and spins on her heel marching over to a nearby table. Sonny follows with an apologetic smile to the boys at the counter.

But the boys don't seem put out at all by Tawni's attitude and Sonny is starting to think this is just how the girl is, as opposed to a result of recently heartbrokenness.

She sits down with Tawni and starts to spoon the expensive, if admittedly delicious, ice cream into her mouth. The boys jump over the counter and join them nonchalantlyignoring the few other customers in the joint.

And Sonny falls in with them, these randoms she meet on a cold Wednesday night. She learns that they are all struggling actors just like her and that they go drinking together every second Friday- she's invited. She learns that Tawni is bitchy and Grady is adorable and Nico is smooth. She learns the best place in Hollywood to get nachos at two o'clock in the morning.

And perhaps most importantly, at around 2:35 in the morning in the middle of the street wearing a lopsided Burger King paper crown ("You are truly one of us now Sonny," Grady had said gravely as he placed the crown on her head, "Bound by kinship and alcohol fuelled misdemeanours we must never tell anyone about.") she learns that Tawni is now in need of a roommate for her apartment.

And her mother said she'd never meet any nice people in Hollywood.

(The next morning they all wake up in Tawni's apartment with a half finished game of monopoly (whoever was the shoe was winning) on the table, no shoes and pictures of all of them on some kind of rollercoaster. No one can really remember how they got there.)


End file.
